Latest Natural Disasters Headlines
All the headlines from our Natural Disasters Topic Page, ordered by recency.
NOAA Forecasts ‘Above Normal’ Atlantic Hurricane Season
May 20 2011 // The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be “above normal”, spawning six to 10 hurricanes of which around half could become major, the U.S. government’s weather agency forecast Thursday. However, as the...
April’s Tornadoes Destroyed, Damaged 14,000 Alabama Homes
May 19 2011 // The swarm of tornadoes that killed more than 230 people across Alabama last month destroyed or heavily damaged more than 13,000 homes statewide and will smash the record set by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 to become the...
Florida Hurricane Fund Gets More Time on Claims
May 19 2011 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been given more time to respond to an influx of claims from 2005 storms. A state panel chaired by Gov. Rick Scott approved an emergency rule waiving a 60-day deadline for acting...
Verisk Catastrophe Index Now Covers U.S. Earthquake Risk
May 17 2011 // The Verisk Catastrophe Index has been expanded beyond the hurricane peril to also cover U.S. earthquake risk, including fire following earthquake. The index provides industry-wide insured property loss estimates by county...
P/C Insurers Take Hit in Q1 as Hurricane Season Approaches
May 16 2011 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry took a beating from record first quarter 2011 catastrophe losses, and recent earnings announcements from global reinsurers illustrate the damage those losses did to earnings and...
Report: Hurricanes Pose Risk to 1.8M Coastal Homes
May 16 2011 // More than 1.8 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at great risk of being damaged by a hurricane, three times the number located in federally defined flood zones, according to a recently released...
Report: Hurricanes Pose Risk to 1.8M Costal Homes
May 16 2011 // More than 1.8 million homes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts are at great risk of being damaged by a hurricane, three times the number located in federally defined flood zones, according to a report released Tuesday. The...
Arkansas Tornado Count Already Twice That of Typical Year
May 12 2011 // Arkansas has seen 59 tornadoes so far this year, a number more than twice what the state sees in a typical year. There also have been 22 weather-related deaths. The warning coordination meteorologist at the National...
April Tornadoes Likely to be Alabama’s Costliest Ever Disaster
May 12 2011 // The April 27 tornado outbreak will likely end up being Alabama’s most costly natural disaster. Gov. Robert Bentley and state Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling said the catastrophe modeling company AIR Worldwide...
Earthquakes Hit Southern Spain; At Least 8 Dead
May 12 2011 // Two earthquakes, the first measured at magnitude 4.4, and the second a much stronger tremor measured at magnitude 5.2, struck Southern Spain near the city of Lorca late Wednesday afternoon at 6:47 PM, local time. At least...
Distant Earthquakes Can Affect San Andreas Fault
May 11 2011 // Researchers examining the San Andreas Fault in central California have found evidence that distant earthquakes can trigger episodes of accelerated — but still very slow — slip motion, deep on the fault. While a...
Alabama Offices to Replace Drivers’ Licenses Lost in Tornadoes
May 11 2011 // The state Department of Public Safety is opening offices in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham to help Alabamians whose driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards were lost in the tornadoes April 27. The offices...
P/C Insurers Cautious About Adopting New RMS Hurricane Model
May 10 2011 // Property/casualty insurers appear to be in no rush to adopt a controversial revised catastrophe model that dramatically raises certain estimates of potential hurricane losses in the country. California-based modeling firm...
EQECAT Raises Japan Quake/Tsunami Loss Estimates to $22-$39 Billion
May 10 2011 // Catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has updated its market loss estimate of $12-$25 billion, issued on March 16, for the March 11 M9 Tohoku Earthquake. EQECAT said that, based on the latest information available, it is...
Terrorism Risks Lead Professionals to Refuse Business Trips
May 5 2011 // Growing concerns over worldwide terrorism have caused some professionals to refuse going on business trips. Half of all respondents to a new survey reported they would refuse a business trip because of concerns related to...
FEMA Defends Lack of Disaster Declaration Over Texas Wildfires
May 5 2011 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency defended its decision to refuse more assistance for Texas in the wake of devastating wildfires, saying that the state has already received sufficient U.S. government help. Gov. Rick...
Oklahoma Residents Get $1M in Federal Aid After Tornado
May 5 2011 // The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that more than $1 million in federal aid has been disbursed to Oklahomans recovering from the deadly April 14 tornado that tore through Atoka County. The Oklahoma...
Nevada Insurance Department Publishes Earthquake Insurance Guide
May 3 2011 // The Nevada Department of Insurance has published a consumer guide to earthquake insurance to encourage residents to evaluate appropriate coverage for their homes and businesses. The state is one of the most active states...
Higher Humidity Readings Aid Texas Wildfire Crews
May 3 2011 // Higher humidity readings in West Texas have given an assist to crew battling wildfires in the arid reaches of West Texas. Federal firefighting team spokeswoman Diane Steltz said no structures were lost or threatened on May...
Nearly 7,000 Insurance Claims Filed After St. Louis Tornado
May 2 2011 // Missouri insurance regulators say major homeowners and auto insurance companies in the state have received nearly 7,000 claims from St. Louis residents with damage from the April 22 (Good Friday) tornado. The companies...
